The cold winter has been making life difficult for everybody in Turkey recently. But this is a country where all four seasons can be lived out to the full. By the time the nex edition of DİPLOMAT appears Spring will have arrived, and the snow and ice will be all but forgotten.

In the present edition of  DİPLOMAT we have two important guests. Our interview is with Latvia’s dynamic ambassador to Ankara, Ivars Pundurs. Ambassador Pundurs has been making every effort to make his charming Baltic homeland  betetr known in Turke. Besides increasing our knowledge of Latvia, he discusses frankly the problems it has faced and teh progress it has made since its rebirth in 1991.

On our “Speaking Out” pages, meanwhile, Turkmenistan’s ambassador to Ankara, Nurberdi Amanmuradov, explains his country’s policy of neutrality. Turkmenistan’s rich natural resources make it one of the most important countries of Central Asia. It is also of particular interest to Turkey for linguistic and cultural reasons. Ambassador Amanmuradov sheds light on his country’s relations with its neighbours and underlines the role played by the principles of President Saparmurat Niyzaov in the formation of foreign policy.

Famous both for his landscape paintings and his non-figurative abstract works, artist Lütfü Günay is one of the doyens of the Turkish art world. His scenes of Çanakkale, the province in which he was born, are particularly treasured by galleries and collectors. The life and works of Günay form the subject of our Arts pages this month.

Our travel pages, meanwhile, spirit you off to Portugal, the most Western country in Europe, and one of the most attractive. For those who are not in a position to cross the whole of Europe from East to West, we also recommend a visit to Mudurnu, which is just 200km from Ankara, and which together with nearby Lake Abant makes a fascinating and beatiful weekend outing at any time of year.

Among other articles which we believe you will find interesting, DİPLOMAT’s legal columnists Murat Demir and İbrahim Yüce turn their attention to the question of foreigners’ residence in Turkey, the procedures which must be followed and the rights which foreigners posses. We expect this information will prove useful for many of our readers.